Article by:
PUBLISHED:
The University of Macau kicked off its 40th Portuguese Language Summer Programme on 6 July, drawing around 400 participants from Macao, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia and Canada.
Organised by the Department of Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the three-week University of Macau Portuguese summer programme mixes language classes with cultural activities aimed at building both proficiency and a broader understanding of Portuguese speaking cultures.
[See more: The top 4 universities in the Greater Bay Area, ranked (2026)]
Courses run across four levels aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, from beginner to advanced, and participants who attend at least 80 percent of the classes receive a certificate.

At the opening ceremony, university vice rector Rui Martins said the programme had spent decades helping participants build a solid grasp of Portuguese while deepening their appreciation of the language’s cultural range and its growing weight globally. The programme first launched in 1986, making it UM’s longest running summer course.
João Veloso, acting head of the Department of Portuguese, also spoke at the ceremony, alongside programme coordinators Lu Chunhui and Tânia Ferreira.
The Macao Foundation is backing this year’s edition, and the Education and Youth Development Bureau has helped set up a dedicated class for local secondary school students.